


Arcadia Falls

by badskeletonpuns



Category: King Falls AM (Podcast), Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Arcadia Falls AU, F/M, King Falls AM focused, M/M, Multi, Polyamory, Suicide, Time Travel, pricefield, sambenily
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-09
Updated: 2017-06-15
Packaged: 2018-10-01 13:09:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,043
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10190585
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/badskeletonpuns/pseuds/badskeletonpuns
Summary: Life Is Strange, but with the addition of characters from the podcast King Falls AM. Focused on the setting of Arcadia Bay/Arcadia Falls, with canon LIS characters as side characters doing their thing that they would normally be doing in the game. The main characters are from King Falls AM. // Ben and Emily haven't seen their friend Sammy for such a long time - they were all dumb teenagers the last time they saw each other, and now? Now they're all dumb adults. Things are going surprisingly well when they all meet for breakfast - until Ben passes out and has a vision of the town being destroyed by a massive storm. That tends to mess up your meal, just a little.





	1. chrysalis

**Author's Note:**

  * For [eroticshark](https://archiveofourown.org/users/eroticshark/gifts).



> I HAVE STARTED IT. THE FIRST CHAPTER IS DONE.  
> For explanation to anyone reading this who isn't eroticshark, I made a bet as to the plot of King Falls AM and I lost very much. I owe her a 5K fic of her choice, and I was lucky enough that she requesting this amazingly self-indulgent AU of some of my favorite media pieces. Anyway! If you like King Falls but haven't played Life is Strange, Please Do So. Vice versa if you've played Life is Strange but haven't listened to King Falls AM.

Somewhere in Arcadia Falls, there is a girl in a school bathroom. A blue butterfly creates a perfect photo opportunity, and another girl with hair the same color as the butterfly gets shot only a few feet away.

The girl raises her hand, and time stops. 

At the same time in a diner across town, Ben Arnold winces and presses a hand to his forehead. He waves off concerned questions from his friends, and then collapses onto the remnants of his breakfast.

The cool plastic of the table against his face, the smell of coffee and syrup, the faint guitar from the jukebox - it all fades into black. 

_ Ben comes awake caught in a maelstrom of wind and rain, pelted by it from all sides. He’s in the forest.  _

_ The sky is clouded over, thunder shaking the ground beneath his feet. _

_ Emily screams from somewhere, and he’s wheeling around trying to find the source of the sound when he collapses again. _

Ben wakes still hearing Emily’s voice. “Ben, are you okay?” Emily frowns, pausing in her explanation of the new sorting system in the library. “Ben?” 

“I think he’s waking up. Ben, can you hear me?” Ben blinks slowly, and sits up. Across from him, Sammy is glancing at him and Emily with worry creasing his face. “Should I call someone?” 

“No, no,” Ben mutters. “I’m fine. Just tired.” 

Emily is holding his hand, and she squeezes it gently. “You sure? You passed out, Ben.” He sees it in her face before she even says anything, as her frown grows deeper and she bites her lip. Something’s not right. “God, you’re bleeding!” 

He reaches up to discover that Emily’s right. The skin under his nose is wet, warm, and when he pulls his fingers away they’re dripping red. “It’ll be fine, I probably just hit my nose when I fell onto the tab-” Ben tries to say, but Emily shakes her head. 

“I don’t know if you hit the table hard enough for that... Did you hit your head on anything else lately? Can you tilt your head toward me?” Ben obeys rather than answer aloud and lets his girlfriend tip his head right and left to look at his nose. The blood is drying on his face now, sticky and cool.

Sammy pushes their dishes to the side and grabs as many napkins as he can out of the dispenser and offers them to Ben. “Here, take these. I’m going to see if they have a first aid kit here.” 

  
He jumps out of his seat to call over Joyce, the woman who runs the diner. 

Ben gets the oddest feeling of déjà vu. 

* * *

 

Even once the blood had been cleaned and Ben had dismissed his friends’ concerns until they stopped bringing them up, the casual atmosphere of the breakfast had vanished. This was supposed to be a happy reunion - Sammy hadn’t been in town for ages. The last time the three of them had been in the same place, Ben and Emily had still been dancing around their feelings for each other like a pair of idiots. Well, Ben had been the idiot, at least. 

Ben had been worried it would make things awkward between the three of them now, but the moment they had all sat down at the beginning of this morning, it had been like Sammy had never left. 

Although apparently, all it took to make things awkward again was to pass out and bleed from your nose. Who knew, right? 

Ben drummed his fingers against the tabletop, trying to come up with anything to talk about other than the intensity of that storm in his vision. The sound of Emily screaming. How awkward it was to sit around a table saying nothing. 

“So, Sammy, tell us more about the radio jobs you had while you were in Seattle? Sounded like you had some pretty unbelievable gossip earlier, and I need proof!” 

Thank all the deities for Emily Potter. 

Sammy shook his head, grinning ruefully. “I don’t know if I can deliver on that part of it. You hear so much gossip on the radio there, someone could tell you the sky turned green and you’d have to talk about it like there was a possibility it could be true.” He started pulling one of the only clean napkins to bits as he talked, telling Ben and Emily about his radio nickname and frankly insane stories about celebrities, both local and national. 

After Sammy had finished a particularly outrageous story, Ben leaned back in his chair, laughing. “Buddy, I gotta be honest with you. That does not sound at all like the Sammy Stevens who left Arcadia Falls all those years ago.” He was kidding for the most part. Sammy seemed to pick up on the little bit of him that wasn’t kidding, though, and only offered up a half-hearted grin. He swept the remnants of his napkin into a tiny white pile, and said something about how everyone changes at some point, even the people who stay.

It was a little unsettling, and there was a second of silence after his statement that this time Ben did not leave Emily alone to cover. He began to talk about the radio show he wanted to start up here - an AM talk show, he was thinking, where listeners could call in and they could chat about the town. Arcadia AM, maybe. 

He didn’t say anything about asking Sammy to be his co-host for it. That would be weird, right? Sammy’d only just gotten back from Seattle, Ben didn’t want to overwhelm him. 

Sammy just nodded and agreed with Ben’s points about the benefits the show would have. 

* * *

 

Ben feels like he’s missing something, in between Sammy’s dark eyes and his messy hair - it’s longer now than it was when they were teenagers, pulled back into a loose bun. There’s something quiet in his face, something small. Ben can’t figure it out.  

* * *

 

Emily was still gamely trying to keep a conversation going, but even she had to realize that it was a losing battle at some point. “Well,” she said at last, “you gentleman can talk all day, but I do have a library to run! I have a business meeting today, and no, Ben, it’s not with the guy from the froggery. Don’t be an ass, trust me, I know he’s creepy without you telling me every time he makes a pass at me.” Ben shut his mouth before a single word escaped, and just grinned at Emily. 

She smiled back and took his hand to pull him up out of the booth. They kissed, and Sammy shook his head and teased them about overly public displays of affection. 

It felt natural. 

It felt more familiar than it should have, and Ben could not shake that sense of déjà vu. 

The feeling persisted until all three of them were piled into Ben’s car and on the road. (Ben promised to bring Sammy back for his car later. He and Emily both had not wanted to leave Sammy just yet.)

They were idling at an intersection, Ben and Emily belting off-key Broadway tunes and Sammy failing to control his laughter enough to tell them how ridiculous they sounded. The light changed, and Ben maybe was a little distracted by the music and Sammy’s laughter and Emily’s voice. He started accelerating, only to have to slam on the brakes as a beat-up truck blew through its red light. There was a girl in the front seat with blue hair, and she didn’t even look at Ben when he honked at her, just flipped him off and kept driving. 

“Dick move,” Ben grumbled before carefully checking the intersection and continuing on.

Sammy was still giggling, shaking his head. “Hypocrite. You were the only one of us with a car in high school, I  _ know _ you ran more than your share of red lights.” 

Ben was protesting that Sammy had no proof of that and Emily was laughing at both of them but agreeing with Sammy, and it was all too short a time before Ben pulled into the Blackwell library's parking lot. There were several other cars in the lot, and a couple students hanging out on the steps. Above them all, the sky was gray but clear, without a cloud to be seen. 

Emily jumped out onto the pavement before Ben had even come fully to a stop, and blew a kiss towards the car as she jogged towards the library. “Talk to you boys later!” She disappeared into the library, leaving Sammy and Ben alone in the car. 

“Have you seen the new library?” Ben asked, twisting around in his seat to face Sammy. “The one from when we were kids got condemned and they tore it all down, Emily’s library is totally new. It’s gorgeous in there.” 

“Especially when Emily’s in there, right?” Sammy teased, and Ben blushed the same shade of red he’d always turned when Sammy used to tease him about that hopeless crush he’d had on Emily when they were kids. 

Ben cleared his throat, and turned back to look out the windshield. “I better get you back to your car. You wanna hop in the front?” 

“Yeah, sure.” It was when Sammy was outside of the car that he saw it - off to the side of the library stairs, two people were arguing. He stopped before getting into the front seat, frowning. “Is that Deputy Gunderson?”

“It’s Sheriff Gunderson now, and I have no idea,” Ben said from within the car, and he leaned over the center console to see what Sammy was looking at. He grimaced when he saw them, and pulled himself all the way over the console to get out of the car. “That’s Gunderson alright, and it looks like he’s harassing a student. Ass.” 

“Should we intervene? She looks scared.”

The student did look frightened; she was shrinking back against the stone sides of the stairs and clutching her bag to herself like a shield. Ben didn’t even say anything, but Sammy could see his hands tighten into fists, the corners of his mouth fall. Ben stalked off towards Gunderson and the girl, and Sammy followed close behind. 

“Hey, Gunderson, back off!” 

Something about the whole scene was sharp and painful and familiar to Ben, and for a second he wondered if he closed his eyes if he wouldn’t be seventeen again, shouting down the new deputy Gunderson over some bullshit rule he’d only started enforcing that day. 

“This ain’t none of your business, Benjamin,” Gunderson said in that slow voice, and that hasn’t changed either, each syllable carefully planned out before he says it. 

Before Ben could do something really stupid, Sammy stepped up to stand by his side.    
“We aren’t looking for a fight,” he assured the sheriff, and god if this wasn’t a scene straight out of Ben’s memories. The past seemed to slow the present down, till it all playing out in slow motion. “There’s no need to argue,” Sammy continued, “I just think that maybe you could remember that you’re talking to a teenage girl, not a hardened war criminal.”

Gunderson looked back at the girl, a washed-out pale fear coloring her cheeks and holding her still against the stone wall behind her. His lips curled into a sneer as he turned to face Sammy and Ben again. “I’m sure you boys think you’re helping,” he said, the look on his face saying the exact opposite. “But you don’t know what the kids in this town get up to.” 

“With all due respect, sir-” and Sammy kept talking but Ben couldn’t hear him anymore.

Ben couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe. He was stuck in something that faded at the edges like an old photograph, memory glossing over the forgotten pieces of the scene. 

The air tasted of salt, and rain pelted Ben’s face. He was at the edge of the cliff, staring at the gray sky that became the gray water to the gray coast, all melting together. There was a storm in the bay, and nothing could be heard over the rushing wind and waves. 

Then he blinked, and Sheriff Gunderson was shaking his head but walking away, and the girl was stumbling over a thank you and fleeing in the opposite direction of the sheriff. Sammy’s hand was warm and solid on his shoulder.

“You okay, buddy?” 

He turned, catching Sammy’s gaze and knowing Sammy must have caught his own and seen the uncertainty and fear there. “I- Maybe you should drive us back to your car. I’m not feeling great.” 

“Sure, Ben. You sure you don’t want me to just drop you off at your house? I can hang out for a while if you want some company, and we can go get my car later.” Sammy’s eyes were warm and friendly, and Ben missed this more than he had realized. 

Still. Sammy must have had places to be, and Ben would be fine. He didn’t want to monopolize his friend’s first day back. “Don’t worry about it, I think I just need to sit down for a bit. I’ll be fine by the time we get to the car.” 

“Alright. Just… Be careful, okay? I don’t think anyone wants a repeat performance of this morning.” Sammy squeezed Ben’s shoulder, and the two of them walked over to Ben’s car where it still idled in the parking lot. 

The drive back to the diner seemed longer than it had before, and Ben was almost asleep in the car when he heard Sammy gasp. He blinked awake slowly. “Wha’ happened?”

“Look outside!” 

He blinked a couple more times, and sat up in his seat. “Is it snowing?”

Sammy nodded. 

They’d pulled to a stop, only a few blocks away from their destination. But there was nothing they could have done to keep going, because it seemed like everyone had stopped to stare at the snow.

It had been sunny minutes ago. 

Wordlessly, Ben pushed his car door open. It seemed like real snow - sharp points of cold along his bare arms, melting in seconds. 

“It’s like magic,” Sammy murmured, his breath misting up in front of him. 

And looking around, maybe it was. The snow was still light, but it seemed to deaden the regular sounds of the town. Snow lightly blanketed the grimy streets, covering decades of misuse, and still the flakes fell. 

Ben shivered. 

It wasn’t a storm yet, but it could be. He’d have to call Emily after her meeting, she was definitely okay but… He had to be sure. 

He could still her scream from his vision earlier that day. 

He’d call her soon. 

* * *

 

Emily never picked up the phone. 


	2. out of time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben is Worried™ about Emily, Ben and Sammy argue about paranormal happenings, and Kate... Oh, Kate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yooo tw for this chapter!!! hit the end notes if you want to see it, because I don't want to spoil ppl who don't want to be spoiled. it's not anything that doesn't happen in the game Life Is Strange.

“Amazeballs!” Chloe said. “I literally just got chills all over my neck, you have _powers!_ ”

The two girls dug into the breakfasts that Joyce brought to the table, but it was only a few seconds respite before Chloe set down her fork and grinned at Max. “Alright, I am freaking out about this. You have to show me something more, something super cool so I’ll believe you without a doubt!”

Max smiled back at her friend. “I,” she proclaimed, “will predict the future!”

A minute or so later, Max raised her hand.

* * *

 

“Sammy, I don’t know what to do. She’s not at her house, she’s not at the library, her mom hasn’t heard from her since yesterday morning and her cell phone just goes straight to voicemail! Emily is missing!” Ben hadn’t touched his plate of food. He’d called Sammy almost too early that morning, but his voice cracked audibly even over the staticky phone connection and Sammy had promised to meet him in person immediately.

Now here they were, sitting in the Rosa’s Whales Diner with their breakfasts going cold in front of them.

“Have you called the police?” Sammy asked.

Ben nodded, frowning. “They said we had to wait twenty-four hours since someone could confirm having last seen her, and we saw her late yesterday.” He shook his head, staring down at his plate. “God, Sammy. I just. What if she’s hurt? What if on the way home from the library, she was run off the road and her phone died and she couldn’t call for help and-” The more Ben spoke the faster his words came, till he couldn’t keep up with his own speech, couldn’t _breathe._ His head had ached since this morning and the diner was just making it worse, something about the bright lights and the sounds and the smells digging into his brain. “I- We gotta find her.”

“I know, I know, Ben, we will. I promise.” Sammy reached over the table, taking Ben’s hand. “You don’t look so good, buddy, are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” he muttered. “Just a little bit of a headache. I think I’m just gonna head outside for a second. Get some fresh air.”

He stood up and the world tilted like an amusement park ride, wind whipping at his clothes and the smell of salt and the sea replacing the diner’s frying bacon and coffee. The next second he was back in the diner, Sammy’s arm around his waist propping him upright. “Ben! I think we should sit back down, maybe call someone? I’m getting worried about this.”

* * *

 

“Alright, I’m going to predict four events that will happen in the next thirty seconds or so,” Max promised. “So, that trucker drops his mug, and Joyce rips him a new one! Then the cop gets an emergency alert on his radio and his partner in the car leaves without him. And after that…” Max trailed off, chewing on her bottom lip.

“C’mon, Max, you can’t stop now! What happens next?”  


“Those two guys sitting in the corner - the short one stands up and almost faints, but his friend catches him. They leave together.”

“No way!” Chloe was grinning even as she denied Max’s claim, incandescent with the excitement of being back with her friend after so long and discovering that said friend apparently had _superpowers_.

  
Max couldn’t help but smile back at her, caught up in the moment. “Yeah way. Finally, a cockroach crawls on the jukebox and it goes _crazy_.”

“Pretty bizarro, Max. But let’s see if everything happens like you said!”

The two girls sat back in their booth and watched as the events unfolded just as Max had said they would, right down to the cockroach on the jukebox.

“Max, this is amazing! Those two guys must be in love. You predicted the _exact_ kind of bug on the jukebox. I pledge allegiance to Max and the power for which she stands…”

* * *

 

Ben convinced Sammy not to call anyone just yet, dragged him outside of the diner and into the parking lot just beside it. He leaned against the wall and sank to the ground, unable to come up with the energy to keep standing. His head was pounding, heavy and hurt.

Sammy sat down beside him, frowning in concern. “What’s happening, Ben?”

“I don’t know.” Ben shook his head before Sammy could say anything else. He had to press the heel of one hand to his forehead, hoping the pressure will reduce the ache. “It started yesterday, in the diner with you and Emily.”

“Yeah, I remember that. You just about passed out in your pancakes.”

“Well, I had a vision.”

“A vision?” Sammy’s voice was concerned, and Ben could picture the worry on his face without even looking at him.

“Yeah. It was of this town.  Arcadia Falls. But there was a storm - god, it was like I was _there!_ I could see all of it, hear every sound. And…” Ben’s headache spiked, and he brought both hands to his face to rub at his eyes. It wasn’t helping as much as he wanted it to. The ache persisted, constant and sharp.

“Ben, are you sure you’re okay?” That was Sammy’s hand on his shoulder, gentle but solid and real.

“Yeah, yeah, buddy. I’ll be fine. I just - I heard her.” Shit. Ben did not mean to admit that.

“What do you mean?” Sammy asked. Ben risks peeking out from behind his hands, and he was totally right about Sammy’s Worried Face™. The sad dark eyes and creased forehead; it was all just the same as the last time Ben saw it.

“During that vision, in the storm. I heard Emily - at least, I think it was Emily. She was…” Ben didn’t want to say it, _couldn’t_ say it. Saying it would put the idea into reality. Make it something that could actually happen.

Sammy didn’t push him, just waited. Squeezed Ben’s shoulder gently, encouraging without pressuring.

“She was screaming,” Ben said, hoarse. The pavement in front of his eyes was a gray blur, swimming from some combination of the dizzy pain in his idea and the idea that he’d seen Emily walk away yesterday like any other and today she could be gone, just like that.

“Maybe it was just a dream?” Sammy offered.

Ben shook his head. “Sammy, you grew up here, you _know_ weird shit happens in this town! Don’t tell me you don’t believe it now.”

“We were kids! Kids’ll believe anything. Besides, I’m ninety percent sure we caused half of that stuff. Remember when we spent that night in Switzer Forest and you terrified the hell out of some tourists driving into town and they spent their entire stay here talking about General Abilene?” Sammy was insistent now, pursed lips and stone-faced.

“Yeah, I remember! Apparently you don’t, because I know that I only scared them because _I_ _saw_ General Abilene and wanted to get a better look at him. It’s not my fault my coat was white and they were idiots who would have seen a ghost in a plastic bag.” Picking a fight with Sammy was a bad idea right now and Ben knew it, but he couldn’t recall how to _not_ do this. Ben couldn’t seem to find the words to do it, the ones that would mend fences and bring back Sammy’s grin and his laugh and the closeness between them.

Sammy turned away, staring out at the parking lot in front of them. “Look, Ben. I went along with what you said back then, okay? It was fun and exciting and you were my best friend, but we’re adults now. Both of us! The Williams family aren’t werewolves, Jesus did _not_ appear at that Jack-in-the-Box at two am, and people don’t have visions of the future! You must have tripped earlier this week, hit your head on something. It was just a bad dream.”

“Sure,” Ben muttered, knowing that he was right but unable to come up with the right response. “Whatever you say.” This lot was almost empty, save for a grimy trailer with the words ‘I’m so dirty :|’ written in the dust on the window. He could hear a dog growling somewhere, and the door to Rosa’s slamming open and shut.

Two girls walked out, arguing with each other about something Ben wasn’t gonna try and listen in on. He’d had enough of arguments for today. They got into a truck and drove off, leaving nothing but the smell of gasoline and rubber behind.

Ben glanced back over at Sammy, who was resolutely not looking at Ben. “Hey,” he said, soft.

Sammy shrugged without turning his head. “I’m sorry, Ben, it’s just not possible.”

  
“No, Sammy, I… Can we go ask at the police department about Emily? I promise I won’t bring up visions or anything, but I don’t want to do this without you.” He reached out, putting a hand on Sammy’s arm.

After a moment, Sammy looked back at him. He wasn’t really smiling, but he didn’t look pissed off either. Just neutral. Just tired. “Sure, buddy. But!” he said, cutting Ben off before he could say anything. “Only if we can go to the hospital first, make sure you don’t have a concussion or something. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

Ben nodded and used Sammy’s shoulder to push himself up onto his feet. “Sounds like a plan to me.”

* * *

 

The medical appointment took longer than Ben would have liked, but at least it was certain now that he definitely didn’t have a concussion.

He was maybe a little suffering from some early signs of possible chronic exhaustion, and the nurse had advised he get more sleep. Probably a good idea, but not one Ben planned on following. Hopefully Sammy hadn’t heard the nurse tell him that, or Ben would never hear the end of it.

The two of them were just pulling up to the police station when Deputy Troy came running out. Ben jumped out of the car before Sammy had even fully stopped in an effort to catch up to him. “Troy!” he shouted. “What’s going on?”

Troy only slowed for a minute, still jogging over to his car. “We got a call about a girl on the roof at Blackwell, looks like she’s gonna jump! I gotta go, Ben.” He jumped into his car and drove away before Ben could say another word.

Ben looked back at Sammy, just getting out of his car.

“I- we gotta help, man. I don’t know what we can do, but there has to be something, right?”

Sammy nodded, sliding back into his car and turning it on. “Let’s go!” Ben ran back over and got into the car and they sped off to the school.

* * *

 

_“Kate, there are billions of videos out there! Yours will fade away like white noise.”_

_“Oh, god, Max, you haven’t seen the looks I get… Or the laughs.”_

_“I understand, truly. I get bullied too! This is just a blip.”_

_“Yep, my life is a blip. Blackwell taught me I’m worthless, and I’ll prove that now.”_

_“Kate, no!”_

* * *

 

There was nothing they could have done. Sammy and Ben didn’t even get to the school until after everything had happened, didn’t have a chance to do anything. Not that Ben could even think of something, anything that could have saved just this one girl.

They cleared out before the EMS personnel arrived, not wanting to get in their way or disturb any of the grieving students.

Ben leaned back in Sammy’s car, staring up at the gray ceiling.

“You okay?”

“Just peachy,” Ben answered, stone-faced and monotone.

Sammy reached out, set a hand on Ben’s shoulder. He didn’t say anything, and when Ben glanced over at him, he was staring out the window moodily. It wasn’t raining - a surprise in Oregon - but the sky remained clouded over, hinting at more odd weather to come. Ben shivered in his seat, and Sammy glanced over at him.

“Want me to turn up the heat?”

Ben shook his head. “But can you turn on the radio? I - I don’t really wanna talk, but I don’t want to be alone with my thoughts, either.”

“Of course, buddy,” Sammy said, and reached over. He flipped through stations of static and crackly music, settling on someone talking about gardening. It was barely audible, but the white noise was all Ben really needed.

What were they supposed to do now? First Emily disappeared, now this girl - Kate? Was that her name? - jumped… What was next? Ben sighed, squeezing his eyes shut. God, his head ached. There was nothing they could do about Kate, but there _had_ to be something they could do about Emily. The police station was busy with other cases - wait. Other cases.

He sat up straight, almost hitting his head on the roof. “Emily’s not the first.”

Sammy glanced at him. “What?”  
  
“Another girl went missing a month or two ago, a student, I think? The cases could be related. Do you have a notebook I can borrow? I gotta write this down.” Ben pulled open the glove compartment, grabbing a beat-up spiral notebook and pen. “We should ask around, we need to figure this out. Maybe other people have been having visions like me, maybe it’s paranormal.”

“Ben-”

“The fucking _snow_ , man, that was so weird. And last night- after the snow, after you were asleep, I think. I couldn’t sleep, and there were these bright lights outside… It was crazy, buddy.”

_“Ben-”_

“It has to be related, it _has_ to.” Ben was scrawling down everything he could remember in the notebook, messy bullet-point lists and paragraphs not aligned with the lines on the page, recording every scrap of information. “Asking around will take so much time… The radio show!”

“Ben, listen to me!”

Ben looked up. Sammy was staring at him, worry lining his dark eyes. “Are you sure you’re okay?” Sammy asked, and reached out to take Ben’s hand. Ben pulled back before he could reach him, shaking his head.

“I’ll be fine,” he said brusquely. “Can you help me with the radio show?”

Sammy tipped his head to one side. “What? Ben, slow down for a second.”

Ben sighed. “I want to start that radio show I was talking about - I have all the equipment, it’s kind of shitty and old but it’ll work. It’d have to be an AM show, that’s the only time the old tower up by where the lighthouse used to be is open. Please, man, I need you with me. I want to be able to ask the townspeople about this - see if any other girls have gone missing, if anyone knows anything. If the police won’t do anything, _we can_.”

As Sammy hesitated, Ben was struck again by how _young_ he still looked. Just like when they were kids, dreaming up dumb schemes and harebrained plans that were just as likely to crash and burn as they were to actually do what they were supposed to. Sammy’d always gone along with Ben’s ridiculous ideas, and Ben had never let Sammy be the one to get hurt when they went wrong.

He hoped he could keep that up now. God, he’d never forgive himself if Sammy got hurt because of him. But he needed his friend, his _best_ friend, here with him now.

“I…” Sammy was hesitant a moment longer, chewing on his lower lip nervously. He shook his head as if to dispel his worries and met Ben’s gaze with his own. “Of course, buddy,” he said. “I’ll always be here for you.”

Ben grinned, and impulsively reached over to hug him.

He’d missed this. Missed _them_.

Now he had to just… Not fuck it up somehow. Trust Sammy, trust that they’d make it through. They’d find Emily, and the three of them could be happy together. Ben had to believe that was true.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw: suicide for kate :((((((((((  
> i'm v sad about kate y'all


	3. interlude: heard it on the radio v.2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so this is a remix of my original crossover fic that's on my tumblr somewhere, altered to fit the way this universe has ended up unfolding.

Chloe turned the radio on, but Max was the one flipping through stations until she finally settled on some talk radio show she’d never heard of. She wasn’t really in the mood for music right then.   
   
The two of them were driving down some back road in Arcadia Bay, going who knows where at who knows what time to do literally anything but lie in bed and think. Max didn’t know why Chloe wanted to be here - even if she could probably guess, she didn’t want to know - but she knew that she could not lie in her dorm room and dream about Kate stepping off that rooftop one more time without breaking something.   
   
The radio was just white noise for Max, fading into the background of her thoughts, her worries, her plans for whatever could possibly happen to her future now that she could change it whenever she wanted. She was anxious enough to jump a little in her seat when Chloe reached over and turned it up.   
   
She glanced at her friend, but didn’t even have to voice the question on her lips before Chloe answered it.   
   
“They’re talking about a missing girl,” she said, and Max heard the hope for _Rachel_ in Chloe’s tone rather than in her words.   
   
 _“Look, just because I won’t show you the notebook doesn’t mean I don’t trust you! I promise, I’m telling you what you need to know. We’re going to find her, man.”  
   
“Ben, you don’t trust me. I’m fine if you won’t show me the damn notebook-”  
   
“-Are you?”  
   
“I…” The man’s sigh crackled in the radio static. “I trust you to show me when you’re ready. It’s just hard right now.”   
   
“You think I don’t know that, Sammy? I promise-”_  
   
Chloe switched the station then, and when Max looked over at her she saw tight lips and a tighter grip on the steering wheel. She was glad Chloe changed it. Something about the mix of frustration and determination in Ben’s voice hit a little too close to home.   
   
It felt like they were intruding on something they weren’t meant to hear, but at this point Max is used to intruding into other people’s lives.   
   
It would be nice to know who the girl was, though, to know if she could match that name to Rachel or to Nathan or to any other conspiracy too large for this small town.   
   
Max raised her hand, and -   
   
She was standing next to Chloe’s truck, watching her best friend climb down from her bedroom window with a little more appreciation that was probably necessary.   
   
“Do you listen to talk shows at all?” she asked when they were both in the truck, but Chloe shook her head and put the truck into gear.   
   
“Like, on the radio? Never. It’s just shitty politics or useless gardening facts.”   
   
Max just nodded and put on her seatbelt. They had barely pulled out of Chloe’s driveway when she reached over to turn the radio on. She couldn't remember what station she had been on, though, and ended up settling for something that was almost more static than indie music.   
   
“I was thinking,” Max said a couple of songs later, trying not to look at Chloe or think about the way the moonlight played off of her blue hair. It would make such a pretty shot, Chloe, framed by the night and lit by the moon… but there were only so many photos you could take of your best friend before it got a little weird. She looked out of the window, instead, where the trees of Arcadia Bay’s old forests whipped past like nothing more than shadows. “Have any other girls gone missing before Rachel?”   
   
Chloe shrugged, the motion just registering in Max’s peripheral vision. “Hell if I know. Definitely not any other girls our age, but maybe… There was this woman at the library. Disappeared just a few days ago, some of the guys at the station called home and asked step-douche if he’d seen anything at the school.”   
   
The radio popped and fizzed without warning, and Chloe cut herself off to reach over and hit it until it settled back into a station. But it wasn’t the staticky guitar from earlier in this timeline, it was the same two men just minutes before their conversation that Max, at least, would be hearing for the second time.   
   
 _“Emily would have told me if she was just going to leave, Sammy! She hasn’t left or run away or started a new life, she is missing.”  
   
“I believe you, buddy! It’s not me you have to convince.” _  
   
Chloe looked over at Max and Max couldn’t stop herself from looking back, seeing something light up in her eyes. “That was her name! I never met her, but she knew Rachel. You think these guys know something?”   
   
The two men on the radio kept arguing while Chloe was talking, circling around from trust to Emily the librarian to the notebook, like CD stuck on repeat.   
   
Max raised her hand and Chloe’s voice slipped into the whisper of time along with Ben and Sammy.   
   
This time around she barely waited for Chloe to turn on her truck before she reached over and started spinning the radio through channel after channel. There had to be more to this story - they had to explain it, somewhere.   
   
Chloe had started to look at her weird, and maybe she had been about to reach out, touch Max’s shoulder and ask what was wrong. But this Max wouldn’t know. This Max jumped back when the radio sparked and shorted, and then finally Sammy and Ben were talking on the speakers.   
   
 _“Good evening, fine people of Arcadia Bay. Today on Arcadia AM Ben and I have a very serious topic for you listeners calling in - any of our past listeners know about the case of Emily Potter. She’s only been missing for a few days, now, but we already miss her…”  
   
“A lot.”   
   
“Yeah. Today, though, we have news. Not- not good news, but news.”   
   
“Another girl went missing a while ago. I didn’t know anything about her, I just assumed the cases weren’t connected like an idiot-”_

_“Ben, it’s not your fault. Even the police assumed this girl was a runaway teenager, no one suspected anything.”_  
   
Chloe pulled over in the middle of the forest and turned up the radio.  
   
 _“I should have known, Sammy! God, I’ve got so many stupid plans and all these complicated theories down in this notebook and it’s already been a couple of days since Emily’s been gone and I haven’t done a goddamn thing and now? We’ve discovered another girl went missing and what if it’s a serial killer, Sammy, what if it’s just one bastard with a thing for pretty girls and it has nothing at all to do with the weather or my dreams or anything?!”  
   
“Ben! Ben, it’s okay, you’re doing all you can. Just listen to me, okay. Put the notebook down and trust me. We are going to find her. Her, and the other girl who went missing. I don’t care if it was aliens or the forces of nature or one bastard with a thing for pretty girls, we are going to figure it out and get them home. We can plan it together, okay, with a new notebook. We’ll get more evidence and prove that they’re missing and didn’t just run away.” _  
   
Max risked a glance at Chloe, and the other girl sat hunched over her steering wheel, head low and breathing hard. “Are you okay?” she asked, tentative.  
   
“Fine,” Chloe snapped. “I just want to listen more.”   
   
She wasn’t fine, but Max didn’t argue. They were getting into the part Max had heard before, Ben insisting that Emily wouldn’t have run away and Sammy trying to soothe accidentally ruffled feathers and just getting Ben more worked up. She wished that her powers could extend to other people, wished that she could let Sammy try again and again until his own friendship was safe. She couldn’t, though, so she just listened.  
   
 _“You think I don’t know that, Sammy? I promise I will tell you everything as soon as I can. This whole time, I needed somebody, needed someone I could trust.”_  
   
Max sits up a little, listening harder. This is new.  
   
 _“You’ve got me, Ben. Let’s talk more about this off-air, okay? In the meantime, should we maybe do our jobs and take some callers? Let’s go with something positive for today’s topic, we know it’s been a long day for everyone. Maybe you guys could share some stories about the good things you’ve had happen to you today. Remember, you can call us at 424-279-3858, or hit us up on twitter at @KingFallsAM or @KingFallSammy.”_  
   
Chloe was dialing the number before Max could do anything, and she had the feeling something had just started tonight.   
   
She didn’t try to go back and change things.

* * *

“Hello? You’re the guys who were just talking on the radio about the girl who disappeared, yeah?” Chloe was constantly in motion, even with the car pulled over she kept fidgeting with the headlights, flicking the windshield wipers on and off and drumming her fingers against the wheel.   
   
“That would be us,” one of the men said. “I’m Sammy and my co-host here is Ben. Who do we have the pleasure of speaking with tonight?”   
   
He didn’t really sound like it was a pleasure, the politeness a little bit forced. Max could hear him through Chloe’s phone and again, a second or two later, over the speakers in the car. An echo of every word.  
   
Chloe didn’t seem to care, just kept moving forward. “I’m Chloe, and I need to know everything you’ve heard about Rachel Amber.” 

“I’m sorry, who?” Sammy asked.  
   
She sighed in frustration, the sound coming through the radio in a crackle of static. “The girl who disappeared! Before the librarian lady!”   
   
“Emily.” That was the other man. His voice quiet, but firm. “Her name is Emily.”

“Yeah, her. I was Rachel’s - we were -” Chloe didn’t seem to know how to finish the sentence, and Max wasn’t sure what she herself was hoping Chloe would say. “She was my best friend,” Chloe ended up finishing. Max can’t say anything but the look she knows is on her face… It probably says more than she could.   
   
“Emily was mine,” Ben says.   
   
Max doesn’t know it, but up in the old radio station by the lighthouse Sammy has the same expression that she does. Neither Ben nor Chloe notice.   
   
Chloe and Ben talk for a while. The posters that Chloe put up, a notebook that Ben has started, people who Chloe’s noticed around town and the ideas that Ben has for future investigation. It’s so late it’s early, and Max is nodding off against Chloe’s shoulder by the time Sammy clears his throat and pointedly asks what time school starts for Chloe tomorrow. Chloe just laughs, but Max looks at her with sleepy eyes and she trails off.   
   
“Yeah, I’d better go. Meet up at Rosa’s Whales day after tomorrow, see what we’ve learned?”   
   
“Sounds good,” Ben says, and Chloe hangs up. She flashes a bright grin at Max, seemingly not tired at all.

“That was fucking awesome, I bet these guys can totally help us! But in the meantime…”   
   
Somehow, Chloe convinces Max to head to the school with her to snoop around, instead of just dropping Max back off at her dorm. Chloe’s good at convincing like that.

**Author's Note:**

> All for you, Kyra. Hope you like time travel and angst and weird wistful memory scenes.


End file.
